Today is Wednesday, July 8, the 189th day of 2009. There are 176 days left in the year.

On this date:

In 1663, King Charles II of England granted a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.

In 1776, Col. John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, in Philadelphia.

In 1889, The Wall Street Journal was first published.

In 1907, Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first "Follies," on the roof of the New York Theater.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson received a tumultuous welcome in New York City after his return from the Versailles Peace Conference in France; Wilson then headed back to Washington, arriving around midnight.

In 1947, demolition work began in New York City to make way for the new permanent headquarters of the United Nations.

In 1989, Carlos Saul Menem was inaugurated as president of Argentina in the country's first transfer of power from one democratically elected civilian leader to another in six decades.

Thought for Today:

"Fools are more to be feared than the wicked." — Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689).